REMARKS
Council Member Oswald Feliz opens Committee on Small Business hearing on storefront vacancy rates and trends
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4 min
Feliz, as Chair of the Committee on Small Business, opens a hearing to examine rising storefront vacancy rates and trends in New York City.
- He notes the citywide vacancy rate of 11.2%, up from 4% in 2007
- He highlights the impact of vacant storefronts on neighborhoods and businesses
- He seeks insights from city agencies like the Department of Small Business Services and the small business community
Oswald Feliz
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Good morning, everyone.
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It's a pleasure to be here with you today.
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I'm Council member Oswald Feliz, Chair of the Committee on Small Business.
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Thank you all for joining today's hearing.
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And thank you to my counsel colleagues, representatives from the administration and the public for being here today.
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They will hear from the Department of Small Business Services, SBS, about how they understand store from vacancy rates and trends in the setting.
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Including not only how they assess vacancies, but also what those vacancies mean for cities, small businesses, and how vacancies can be kept at healthy levels for commercial district to project city that have varying needs.
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I would also like to acknowledge colleagues that join including Council member of Zuwan.
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Local shopping areas are the heart of many New York City neighborhoods.
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They are where locals go to conduct the business of everyday life, and one of the first things visitors see when they arrive to the city.
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Many thriving businesses on a well lit street can impart a sense of community strong neighborhoods.
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The opposite can also be true.
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A high number of going out of business or for rent signs might create a sense upon ease or discourage new businesses from opening up and investing there.
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While some vacancies are inevitable, some ways as new businesses come in and old ones leave.
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We know that vacancy rates that are high and vacancy rates that are lengthening indicate that something is off balance.
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We also know that vacancy vacancy rates in the city of New York have been trending steadily upwards for at least the last 15 years.
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Only 4% of storefronts were vacant citywide in 2007.
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That number rose 10 years later to almost 6% in 2017, And in 2019, it rose further to an almost 8% according to the data from the Department of Finance.
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The pandemic raised that rate again to over 10% in 2020.
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Today, SBS reports that citywide vacancies sit at an overall 11.2%.
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That is barely below the peak of 11.3 at the height of the pandemic.
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Make.
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There's nobody that hates vacant vacant storefronts more than I do.
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Vacant storefronts create many challenges for our communities.
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Studies show that one vacant storefront can drastically decrease the amount of foot traffic in a commercial corridor affecting the surrounding community and and business corridor.
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At the same time, vacant storefronts can create quality of life issues.
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We've seen that in many areas in our city.
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They turn into garbage dumping zones, they turn into graffiti zones, things that we obviously don't want in our commercial corridors.
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Just as important as this big picture trend is what's happening in specific neighborhoods and retail corridors across the city.
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The highest reported vacancy rates are consistently in Manhattan, with Manhattan Community District 1 reporting a sky high vacancy rate of 20 2%.
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In fact, every single community district in Manhattan, say, 1 has a double digit vacancy rate.
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Brooklyn districts also faced high vacancy rates of 12% on average, while the Bronx and Queens are tied for lowest at 8%.
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There could be many reasons for these differences.
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Is the rent just too high in some areas for businesses to succeed?
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Is this a result of larger shifts and foot traffic and shopping patterns, or do certain neighborhoods just need more investment from the city?
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If some areas benefit from forming a bid or organizing into the Merchants Association, other areas with lower vacancy rates may be underutilized and ready for more storefronts to open.
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Only the small business committee will see what's happening in their data they work can tell us the story behind this data.
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So give us that perspective.
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Today, we'll hear from SBS to understand more about what these numbers can tell us.
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About what is happening, what is behind the long term rise in store for vacancies, and also to explain what tools and port are available and effective for retail corridors experiencing high vacancy rates.
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I equally can look forward to hearing from members of the small business community about the causes and the impact of store from vacancies in their neighborhoods and welcome their input on additional areas where the city may offer support.
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Finally, before we begin, I want to thank Rebecca Barela and Jessica Bule from Central Staff for the work in putting the steering together, as well as my chief of staff, Fiona Reed's, and my deputy chief of staff and legislative director.
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Guillermo Rodriguez for all the help and putting this together.
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Thank you so much.
